Promotion and hiring of teachers will be among the first order of business for the Department of Education Zamboanga City division office, an education official disclosed.

“Our schools division superintendent emphasized our priority. One is the promotion of our teachers. We have noted that we still have around Php 7 million, money for the promotion of our teachers,” Dr. Julieto Fernandez, Assistant Schools Division Superintendent, said on Monday, July 17.

This allotment, he added, covers promotion for vacant higher positions or through classification.

Fernandez said they are looking into the reasons which caused the delay of the promotions and reclassifications.

“When we sat down in our first week of service here in Zamboanga City, we asked the data. So we don’t know what transpired, why there’s a delay in the reclassification and promotion of our teachers. As of now, we are still asking for the data,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez, along with new OIC Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Romeo Felix Triambulo, recently assumed their posts at the Zamboanga City division office.

Another priority will be the hiring of teaching and non-teaching personnel to fill up vacant positions.

Fernandez said that for non-teaching posts, there are still vacancies for positions of administrative assistants, nurses, administrative officers, bookkeepers, and disbursing officers.

For teaching posts, Fernandez said they are looking to fill in 21 positions for guidance counselors, 34 teacher II, 5 teacher III, and 4 master teachers for senior high schools.

Fernandez told local media that promotion and hiring will not follow the ‘palakasan’ system.

“We will validate [rumors]. For now, it will not happen, not under our watch,” he said. (Jasmine Mohammadsali)